OKLAHOMA CITY — Shorthanded, the Detroit Pistons put up a fight against the NBA's top team.
They couldn't pull off the comeback, though, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 119-103, on Wednesday at Paycom Center.
It was the Pistons' second straight loss, and it drew on the previous defeat, with Isaiah Stewart (two games) and Ron Holland and Marcus Sasser (one game each) suspended by the NBA following the team's brawl Sunday with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Additionally, the Pistons were without star guard Cade Cunningham, who missed his fifth straight game with a left calf contusion. Tobias Harris, who missed the Pistons’ previous two with right achilles tendinopathy, returned to the starting lineup but was ruled out in the second half due to the same injury.
The Pistons trailed by many as 17, but got within four points late thanks to a strong defensive fourth quarter, holding the Thunder to 7-for-20 shooting in the final period. Lu Dort knocked down a dagger 3-pointer with 2:49 left, though, to give Oklahoma City a 112-103 lead.
The Thunder came out of the gate hot, knocking down 14 of their first 19 shots (73.7%) to take a 37-22 lead late in the first quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 33 points, sparked the strong start with 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the opening period.
Despite their early dominance, the Pistons whittled the deficit to single digits several times before making a late push in the fourth. They opened the final period with a 17-5 run, punctuated with a three-point play by Paul Reed that made it 102-98 with six minutes left. A putback dunk by Ausar Thompson cut it to four again with four minutes to play, 107-103.
Tim Hardaway ...
